July 13, 2014 1:08am EDTJuly 11, 2014 8:49pm EDTThe Cavaliers are said to be willing to a deal for Kevin Love, but No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins has been assured he would not be included in any such trade, a source told Sporting News.Andrew Wiggins(AP Photo)

LAS VEGAS — As the list of available free agents began to shorten Friday in the wake of LeBron James’ announcement that he would be returning to Cleveland, the NBA's gaze turned northward, toward Minnesota, where the Timberwolves still remain with star forward Kevin Love under contract for one more tenuous season.

Love has informed the Timberwolves he will not sign an extension, which means he would become a free agent next summer and force the team to consider trade options.

The more the process plays out, the more the Wolves’ near-term options seem to be dwindling. The Cavaliers are said to be willing to consider a deal for Love, but No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins has been assured he would not be included in any such trade, a source told Sporting News. That leaves the Timberwolves to pick over the likes of forward Anthony Bennett (last year's top pick) and guard Dion Waiters.

The Cavs’ intentions of keeping Wiggins seemed to be confirmed Friday night, when he made his debut for the Cavaliers’ Summer League team here, facing off against No. 2 pick Jabari Parker of the Bucks.

The arrival of James in Cleveland, coupled with the news that Heat big man Chris Bosh pulled a surprise and would remain in Miami on a max-salary deal worth $118 million, set up the Rockets as another possible front in the quest for Love, which has already included the likes of the Celtics and, most notably, the Warriors.

But the Rockets present the same problem for Minnesota in that they also provide a less-than-appetizing set of options for coach and front-office head Flip Saunders. Houston was paving the way for a max contract offer to be made for Bosh when it traded away point guard Jeremy Lin to the Lakers on Friday morning, and while there are still some good young pieces in place for the Rockets (Donatas Motiejunas, Terrence Jones), there is likely not much that will immediately satisfy Saunders’ desire to remain competitive in the short term.

That could leave Saunders rather disappointed in the market for Love, even as he figures to become the best available asset on the market.

And it could be beneficial two the two teams who have been most active in the Love market — Boston and Golden State. While a source said recently that the Timberwolves and Warriors have moved on from their talks about Love, which hinged on Golden State including guard Klay Thompson, those talks can easily be revived at any point this summer if the market for Love continues to be dry.

Also, the Celtics remain hopeful of using its raft of draft picks to help the team lure Saunders into a deal. Boston acquired a pick from the Cavaliers to facilitate the trade that cleared room for James this week, and now could have as many as nine first-round picks in the next four drafts.